We picked up our Jucy hire car from Christchurch airport and began our 500km road trip to Queenstown.
Our little Fiat Punto was going to have to serve us well as the day we hired the car a storm was sweeping across the South Island.
Our first stop was Lake Tekapo which is about 3 hours drive from Christchurch. Fortunately traffic is not a problem is New Zealand as there are so few people you have the road essentially to yourself.
We stopped off in a small town called Geraldine to be told that the road to Lake Tekapo was closed due to the...

Nov. 24 Tekapo is a town of nearly 400 on a major through fare lined by a strip of souvenir shops and dining venues. It has its own majestic lake and an imposing view of the mountains to boot! Plus it is home to the nation’s observatory which we just happened to go visit. We signed up for an evening stargazing tour. After meeting at their office in town, we were shuttled up the to 1000 meter Mt. John. On the way we scattered herds of sheep which graze free range on this land. Oh, I forgot to tell you that they gave us knee length down...

We arrived late yesterday afternoon at lovely, lovely Lake Tekapo (population 350!) and took the de-rigeur photos at the Church of the Good Shepherd which overlooks the lake - a magnificent view. It is a tiny still fully-functioning church serving 3 Christian congregations. Very similar to Gougan Barra in west Cork in fact. It was built in 1935 as a memorial to the pioneers of the Mackenzie country. As ever the sun graced us with its presence.
Also took snaps at the bronze statue of the collie/sheep dog which was put up to honour the...

We took a jet-boat trip along the Rakaia Gorge river. At 35NZD for less than 10 mins it was a bit of a swizz but the walk back along the top of the gorge was great and I got another run in.
Lucky for us we decided to head inland towards Tekapo..by late afternoon we were hearing stories about possible tsunamis hitting the NZ shore following the 8.8 quake that had hit Chile in the early hours of Sat morning. The coast guards and park rangers were asking people to leave the campsites and head for higher ground.
We had a quick pitstop in the...

Lake Tekapo was really impressive. A tiny town (and when I say tiny I mean one street big). People come here to ski mainly, the lake is pretty much surround on all sides by mountains. We did a walk up Mt John where Roger (a Scottish Christian) tried to spread the word and convert me - how well he knows me. The view at the top was ace, and the snow was knee deep. I had great fun running down the sides of the mountain like a goon, screaming like a girl.

Arrived back mid morning from the Cook Islands and picked up my $17 a day car, a super old Nissan Bluebird automatic. Cool! I took to the roads thanking Jucy for placing a sticker on the dash saying "Drive on the left". Not done that much in the last 7 years. Obviously an experienced driver and being a bloke, took to the new car plus left sdie driving with no problem of course.
I headed first to Lake Tekapo and my first YHA hostel of this road trip. This one is famed for having a wall sized window looking over the lake. It didn't...

We spent the morning in the town of Christ Church. We visited a 200 year old church, walked around town and the shops before heading out. Then we were off to the highest peaks in NZ. The weather has not been cooperating much today. It has been cloudy all day. It was hard to see the mountains we were following the whole way. We stoped at Lake Tekapo which is known for its absolutely beautiful color. We were only able to see a glimps of the tourquise waters when the sun peaked through the clouds. The picture included doesn't give it justice....

Hi Folks,
Well i decided to leave lovely Dunedin and hit the road again. Next stop Lake Tekapo. En route we stopped off at Lake Pournaki, it has absolutely spectacularly coloured water. It's a really vibrant effervescent colour due to the glacial activity in the region. The powder in the water causes it to be really bright for several meters below the surface. It's so dense that after a couple of meters it resembles deep sea waters with very little life. After a photo stop and some time to just sit and admire the beautiful surroundings we...